Northern Ireland Water has introduced four new Nissan e-NV200s to its fleet as part of its strategy to become carbon neural by 2050.

As the sole provider of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland, its vehicles are a familiar sight to members of public, with staff providing a 24/7 service, 365 days a year, to all areas of the province.

Des Nevin, NI Water’s customer and operations director, said: “Ahead of the ban on the sale of many new petrol and diesel vehicles, we have been actively considering how, when and where to upgrade to the various forms of alternative-fuel technology. It is exciting to see the tangible impact of that work in the form of the first delivery of four new e-NV200 vehicles from Nissan.”

The decision to add four e-NV200s to its 600-strong fleet has won high-level political approval for the company.

Nichola Mallon, infrastructure minister at the Northern Ireland Assembly, said: “NI Water has an ambitious strategy to address the climate emergency and become carbon-neutral by 2050.

‘‘As the biggest user of electricity and the second largest landowner, they have a unique opportunity to do this by harnessing their assets for a wide range of environmental initiatives.”

The Nissan e-NV200 is equipped with the same 40kWh battery as the Nissan Leaf, it has a maximum range of 187 miles in city conditions and a maximum cargo capacity of more than four cubic metres.